- North By Northwest shares an obvious template with some of Alfred Hitchcock's early, great suspense adventures, such as The 39 Steps and Saboteur. In this particular realization, the innocent man who gets caught in a web of international espionage is brash advertising executive Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant), who regularly employs what he calls "expedient exaggeration" to get ahead in life. It is his accidental misrepresentation of himself as a government agent named Kaplan, however, that makes him the target of a dangerous purveyor of government secrets named Philip Vandamm (James Mason). And so the fun begins.
- Operating under the alias Lester Townsend, Vandamm first has his thugs, including a memorably devoted gunsel named Leonard (Martin Landau), subject Thornhill to an "assault with a gun, and a bourbon, and a sportscar," an experience he only barely survives by running into the police (literally). Once at the station, the hilariously schnookered Thornhill has trouble convincing both the authorities and his bemused mother (Jessie Royce Landis) of his innocence, particularly after a return to the scene of the alleged crime fails to unearth a nest of spies. Speaking of unearthing, haven't we seen that gardener somewhere before? Regardless, it is only when Thornhill tries to visit Townsend at the United Nations that he realizes, in an odd twist of fate, that he has been the victim of some particularly dastardly false advertising. Unfortunately, when the real Townsend is stabbed in the back (again literally), Thornhill extracts the knife just in time to have his photo snapped. Time to start running!
- It is while on the lam that Thornhill encounters the mysterious Eve Kendell (Eva Marie Saint) riding the train to Chicago. Their sexually charged verbal sparring match culminates in an offer of sanctuary from Eve, but the audience should know by now that none of the characters in this film are quite as they seem. After a train station escape in which many red caps are uncovered, Thornhill is propelled into a series of wild goose chases and narrow escapes that make North By Northwest one of the best adventures ever filmed. Some, like the scene at the auction house, are whimsical reminders that Cary Grant is also an immensely talented comic actor. Others, like the finale at Mt. Rushmore, are thrilling reminders of Hitchcock's uncanny proficiency with artificial sets (I have to double-check every time I see the film -- it is indeed not the real monument). The best scene in the film, however, takes place at an isolated bus stop in Indiana where a commuting farmer casually remarks on a plane "dustin' crops where there ain't no crops." This innocent-looking setup turns out to be the most dangerous and explosive case of false advertising yet.
- In addition to being a great film, North By Northwest is also a reminder of just how much variety exists within Alfred Hitchcock's filmography. In 1958 came Vertigo, almost certainly the director's most intellectual and tragic film. Two years later, in 1960, would come Psycho, the director's most visceral and shocking film. In between these two cinematic masterpieces is this film, Hitchcock's most thrilling and entertaining adventure. North By Northwest itself contains a multitude of tones, ranging from the intoxicated physical comedy of the jail scene, to the riveting action of the crop-duster assault, to the poignant romance of Thornhill's woodland meeting with Eve. Perhaps Hitchcock's title as "The Master of Suspense" was too specific--these films suggest that he was simply The Master.
- I spotted Hitchcock barely missing the bus.
- I didn't get a chance to mention the presence of Hitchcock regular Leo G. Carroll as the Professor.
- I don't know this for a fact, but I've always assumed that the film's title referred to that line from Hamlet about knowing a hawk from a handsaw.
